Dead Fox part 2, revised edition
by ThePrinceOfShapeir
Summary: NEW CHAPTER!! ch. 3, innocent inquires, We find Jade asking quite a few questions about Fox. Could there be something there? Also, we meet another member of FOXHOUND's elite! R&R!
1. Default Chapter

Bottom of Form  
Dead Fox Part 2  
This guy was really getting on Eric's nerves.  
"So how many people actually died on this mission?"  
Eric tapped his cigarette to knock off the ashes.  
"Six."  
"Six huh? That's not a whole lot."  
"In this line of work, not a lot is just enough."  
The man that was getting on Eric's nerves so badly was a short, brown  
haired, skinny little number cruncher named Donovan Cash. He was the  
mission analyst for Fox's most recent mission. Eric didn't like him  
one bit. Fox would probably like him less.  
Thank God Fox didn't know about this guy.  
"So when is Red Fox going to arrive?" Donovan asked.  
"Soon." Was all Eric was willing to reply.  
"I can't wait to meet him."  
Eric stood up.  
"No, you are not going to meet him."  
"Why not?"  
"Because Fox didn't know you were the analyst."  
"So? We'll just tell him when he arrives."  
"No. If there's one thing Fox hates, it's being kept in the dark. If  
he finds out you were on this mission, he'll beat the shit out of me  
then shoot you. Twice probably."  
"Oh. So I'm out of this mission?"  
"Exactly."  
"Ok.So when do I meet Red Fox?"  
This was more than Eric could stand. He got up and left the room  
without another word.  
*********  
The chopper let down at FOXHOUND headquarters with a loud thud. The  
doors opened to reveal a tall, blonde man in the custom elite green  
field uniform given to those who made it to the elite level of  
FOXHOUND. He had a bandage over his right arm and his long locks were  
saturated and covered half of his face. A huge group came to  
congratulate him on his recent mission, most were clad in the dark  
green of the lower class of soldiers, but there were some in the  
black uniforms of the advanced squadron and several white clad  
doctors or kitchen crew members. They all screamed and applauded as  
Fox jumped down from the chopper and made his way to the elevator  
that was unfortunately past the huge mob of people. Screams of  
questions and praise rang through his ears and hands shot out of  
every corner to touch his sacred body.  
"..Ummmm." Was all Fox could get out to the score of  
questions that bombarded him at unbelievable volumes. For being a  
secret mission, a whole lot of people seamed to know about it. By some  
miracle, he managed to escape from the mob of soldiers and get inside the  
elevator, fighting to keep everyone else out. Making sure no one could get  
inside, he hit the third floor button and slumped against the wall. He let  
a sigh escape his parched lungs.  
"The sad part is: this is as good as it gets." He said to himself.  
"Surely it can't be all that bad?"  
Fox started and looked around for the voice that he knew so well.  
"Eric?"  
"You forgot to turn off the transceiver. I heard everything. Quite a  
welcome, huh?"  
"I guess.where are you?"  
"At the bar, waiting for you."  
Fox smiled. The 'bar' was nothing more than a table in the cafeteria that  
specialized in intoxicating substances.  
"Nah. I'm tired; think I'll hit the cot."  
"All right man, I'll drink for you."  
"You do that."  
Fox turned off the transceiver and waited for the metallic 'ding' that  
signified the arrival of his floor.  
He exited the elevator and shuffled down the hall to the stairwell.  
He always took the stairwell to his room since there was always frequent  
traffic in the main elevator. People were one thing he wasn't in the mood  
to come in contact to right now. He almost never was after a mission. As he  
approached his room on the top floor of the living quarters where all the  
elite boarded, he slipped his card key in and entered his sanctuary.  
Closing the door, he locked it and sat down in his chair. His room  
had not changed much since the first time he entered it. He had the  
standard cot, desk, chair, closet and mirror. The only décor he added was  
several types of swords and weapons attached to the walls. Weapons were the  
only things he collected, besides memories, and he held on to both. He was  
a blade enthusiast, and extremely skilled with every weapon on his wall.  
Fox unlatched the belt on his green field pants and set it on the  
desk, removing the M92 and placing it also on the table. He unbuttoned his  
shirt and threw it down the laundry chute. FOXHOUND had a very unique  
laundry system installed. A laundry chute was connected to every room, so  
when you had any dirty clothes, you threw them down the chute and they  
would pop out into designated baskets, then the laundry crew would clean  
them and send them in new the next morning, or if the clothes were too  
dirty or torn up to be cleaned, the soldier was issued a new set. Fox would  
definitely get a new suit.  
He took off his black combat boots and removed his pants. He threw  
the pants down the laundry chute as well. The only relics he still had from  
his mission were the M9, his combat knife and the canteen. He picked up the  
canteen. There were still a good three fourths left of whiskey. He debated  
getting drunk, but then thought that someone would probably want to see him  
anytime now, and he didn't want that person to see him drunk. He decided to  
do what he always did when he had to choose between two difficult choices.  
He threw on a pair of black sweatpants and went to go work out.  
*********  
"It goes without saying sir."  
Big Boss crunched on his cigar. A reaction he had to whenever he got asked  
a question he didn't feel like asking.  
"I don't like it." He replied.  
Jonathan Cash, Donovan's older, more business like brother, grew irritated  
at this old, yet dangerous, man's opinion.  
"Having one ace is fine, but there needs to be some kind of insurance."  
Big Boss spun around in his leather swiveling chair, facing away from  
Jonathan.  
"Mr. Cash, Red Fox has no need of a replacement."  
"I'm not talking about a replacement. We just need some back up in case  
anything ever happens to him."  
Big Boss smiled.  
"Nothing is going to happen to Fox. Have you seen the results of his latest  
mission? He completed it in less than a few hours!"  
"All it takes, sir, is one bullet."  
Big Boss smiled even wider.  
"Fox has taken many bullets."  
"But you never know when the time will come when he up and dies, and we're  
left with no replacement."  
"We have others in the elite squad."  
"But none have the reputation or ability of Red Fox. We need to start  
training a replacement!"  
Big Boss swiveled around to face Jonathan.  
"Are you aware that Fox is only in his mid twenties?"  
"Yes sir, but there are many fresh, new recruits that show amazing  
potential! I'm sure we can find a replacement for Red Fox."  
Big Boss had enough. Some paper pushing infidel was trying to tell HIM what  
he should do with HIS soldiers that HE had trained from the ground up,  
including his favorite.  
Big Boss stubbed his cigar into a gold ash tray.  
"Mr. Cash, this conversation is over. I will consider you're ideas, but I  
will NOT start looking for another Fox."  
"But if you."  
"GOOD DAY, sir."  
".thank you.sir."  
Jonathan turned and exited Big Boss's study. Big Boss pulled another cigar  
out of his box and lit it. Puffing lightly, he considered the idea of Fox  
dying. He swiveled around again and looked out his window over the main  
training court where the soldiers trained in basic firearm skills. The  
thought of Fox dying shook him. He stood and threw the relatively new cigar  
in the ash tray then walked out of his study.  
********  
Why are there always so many lines around this place?  
The young female soldier tapped her foot impatiently. Never in her life had  
she seen such a line for military food. Her long brunette hair rested on  
her shoulder, so she knocked it off in frustration. At least another  
fifteen minutes until she got up to the servers.  
Shouldn't women get special consideration, even in the military?  
The man behind her pinched her butt, in an ominous answer to her question.  
She sighed and decided not to press the issue with the obviously older,  
more experienced soldier. Instead she waited the allotted time to get her  
meal. After receiving the tray of volatile military food, she searched the  
room for an open table. Not a single empty seat in the place. Suddenly she  
caught sight of a middle aged man in a black tank top and green field pants  
waving his arms in a drunken stupor. The man sitting next to him, obviously  
tired of listening to the drunken man's ravings, got up and left.  
Perfect. Just the seat I was looking for.  
She walked over to the man and sat down.  
"Like I was saying bobby.these penis rings.they don't work worth shit man,  
I been wearin' the damn thing for days and I got no growth man."  
He looked up to notice that instead of Bobby, there was a very attractive  
young woman sitting next to him.  
"Woah, Bobby, this drink is sure makin' you look a whole lot better.maybe I  
should lay off it before I do something stupid."  
He pushed his bottle of vodka off the table.  
"Ummmm, hi, I'm Jade."  
Eric squinted and looked her up and down.  
"Damn Jade, you look.wait a minute, if you're not Bobby, then why did I."  
Eric leaped over the table and retrieved his vodka bottle. Quickly he  
returned to his seat and tried to engage a conversation with Jade.  
"So uh, how long you uh.been.here?"  
It was getting hard for Eric to focus on what he was trying to do.  
"I've been here for a year." Jade said as she tried to eat her food as  
quickly as possible.  
"Oh, cool. Uh, so, I'm uh.Eric Clapto.no, I'm Eric uh, Jones?"  
Jade was getting irritated with this drunk man's attempts to hit on her.  
"Did you know.I'm uh, uh, Red Fox's partner?"  
Jade dropped her fork.  
"Red.Fox?"  
Eric smiled. "Yeah, we just uh, finished a, uh."  
Eric's memory was failing him, so he drowned them in his bottle. Jade  
turned to face him.  
"Tell me about Red Fox."  
  
There! That's chapter one. I'm working on chapter 2 now. This story is  
going places I never thought it would. I originally planned to make this  
one story like Dead Fox part one. But I decided to use chapters for once.  
Maybe I'll get more reviews that way. 


	2. Sleepless in the Battle

Chapter 2  
  
Fox counted one-hundred and fifty then stopped. He hung on to the bar by  
his right arm. One-hundred and fifty one arm pull ups. Not bad. He switched  
to his left arm and counted to one-fifty again. This time, he swung up over  
the bar and hung his legs over it, so he was hanging upside down. He  
crossed his arms and examined himself in the mirror while the blood rushed  
to his head. To his surprise, he didn't look much different upside down  
than he did right side up, except for the fact that his hair nearly touched  
the ground.  
Big Boss is going to be nagging me to cut it again.  
Fox hated cutting his hair. He almost never did, until it interfered with  
his abilities in combat. He caught sight of his tattoo on his right arm. He  
placed his left hand on it. The traditional FOXHOUND symbol, the fox head  
grasping the combat knife in its mouth. The sight of that tattoo would send  
any military personal into awe or anger. Suddenly Fox heard the mechanical  
'ding' of the metal sliding doors that riddled the FOXHOUND compound. A  
huge, brawny rookie walked in wearing a muscle tee-shirt and the common  
green field pants issued to the bottom of the FOXHOUND squad.  
Fox stared at him through the mirror and the rookie stared back. Fox  
narrowed his eyes. The rookie could only last a few more seconds before  
shaking his head. He set down a black gym bag and sat down at the bench  
press. Fox looked at himself again in the mirror. He was an impressive  
sight to say the least. His build was incredible, and there wasn't a shred  
of hair on his body below his eyebrows, thanks to an experiment FOXHOUND  
had made him go through. Originally, the experiment was to see if the serum  
would speed up Fox's amazing healing rate, but instead, it killed all the  
hair follicles wherever the crème was applied. Not wanting to look  
partially smooth, partially hairy, Fox had them remove all his body hair.  
Fox flipped down from the bar and landed gracefully. He checked out  
the rookie again. He had forty-fives and thirty-fives on the bar. He  
appeared to be mildly struggling with it. Fox smiled. Perhaps what he  
really needed was a little competition.  
Fox walked over to the second bench press and put two forty-fives on  
each side of the bar. He sat down and did ten reps, making sure the rookie  
caught sight of him. After finishing, he put the bar on its hooks and sat  
up. The rookie put the same weight on his bar and sat down. He pushed ten  
reps, with some obvious difficulty. When he finished, it was his turn to  
sit up and expect more from Fox.  
Fox smiled, grabbed two ten pound plates and put one on each side of  
the bar. He assumed the position again and pushed eight reps without any  
difficulty. He racked the bar and sat up. The rookie had lost his grin. He  
picked up two ten pound plates himself and put them on the bar. He did  
eight reps, and almost lost it on the last one. He sat up triumphantly, a  
huge grin in the middle of his red face.  
Fox cracked his knuckles. It was time to finish this guy off. He  
pulled the tens off. The rookie smiled even wider, expecting Fox to back  
off now. But to his obvious disappointment, Fox picked up two twenty-five  
pound plates and put them on the bar. The rookie scoffed, not believing Fox  
could do it. Fox lied down on the bench and gripped his hands on the bar.  
The thick, ridged metal dug into his callused hands. Fox tightened his grip  
even more and focused all his force into his arms, causing his legs to  
stick to the floor.  
He pulled the bar off the rack and held it above him, parallel to his  
chest.  
Damn the heat.  
He let the bar fall in a controlled motion and let it touch his chest. He  
then shot the bar up in a triumphant burst of energy, sweat shot off Fox's  
body in every direction. He let the bar fall again, and pushed again, he  
did it two more times, and on the last time down, his body told him it was  
going to shut down on him. Fox gritted his teeth as the bar touched his  
chest. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, letting out a barbaric  
yawp.  
The heat.  
Fox pushed the bar up to the rack and dropped it there. He released his  
hands from the bar and sat up. The rookie looked absolutely awed. He picked  
up the twenty-fives and put them on the bar. He sat down resolutely,  
looking like a lamb going to slaughter. He grabbed the bar and pulled it  
over his chest. Instead of going down in a controlled motion however, it  
fell down and pinned his chest. The rookie's face turned tomato red and he  
let out many grunts of anger and pain. Fox walked over to the rookie's gym  
bag and pulled out a white towel. Fox wiped the sweat off his chest and  
face with it, then hung it around his shoulders, and then he walked over to  
the rookie struggling with the bench.  
"And the real lesson here is...,"  
The rookie looked up at Fox with pain and humiliation in his eyes.  
"...Don't be a showoff."  
Fox turned around and walked out of the gym room with the towel and a  
smile.  
********  
Upon arriving at the door to his room, Fox suddenly became aware of a  
presence behind his door. Fox froze. He flattened himself against the wall  
next to his door. It was unlocked. He knew he locked it on his way out.  
There were many people in the world that thought it would be a better place  
without him. He just wasn't sure who it was that wanted him dead this time.  
Probably Scorpion. Silent Scorpion was another one of FOXHOUND's elite.  
Scorpion had been a rival of Fox's ever since Fox made it through the  
advanced class.  
Tensing his muscles for the sudden work he was going to do, Fox threw  
the door open, leaping in preparing for the flying kick he...  
"Calm down Fox."  
Fox tripped thanks to the familiar voice and fell on his stomach. He lied  
there for a few seconds, trying to recover whatever pride he had left.  
"Mmf mhehg you Bghs Bff."  
"What?"  
Fox lifted he head off the floor.  
"Nice to see you, Big Boss."  
Big Boss smiled.  
"The pleasure is all mine Red Fox."  
Fox picked himself up and crossed his arms. Big Boss sat in Fox's chair,  
fingering a cigar.  
"To what do I owe this grand meeting?" Fox asked.  
"I just came to congratulate you on you're mission."  
"Funny. I almost never got this kind of welcome on all my other missions."  
Big Boss smiled again.  
"I just merely wanted you're opinion on something."  
Fox sat down. Big Boss was a personal friend of Fox's.  
"Shoot."  
"What do you think would happen if something happened to you?"  
Fox tensed. Big Boss continued.  
"It has recently come to my attention that we might be in need of some new  
recruits. Someone personally suggested that we start training a new...Fox."  
"So you are saying..."  
"Well, since you are Red Fox, the greatest soldier FOXHOUND has, I thought  
I should take you're opinion."  
Fox looked down at his knees.  
"...I'm not going anywhere, Big Boss."  
Big Boss slapped his knee.  
"Just what I thought as well! Now, I'm going to close this...Fox  
replacement idea for as long as you think I should."  
Big Boss stood and put his hand on Fox's shoulder. Fox looked up into his  
mentor's eyes.  
"I'm here for you Fox. Even after Derek died, I was the one who was there  
for you."  
At the mention of Derek's name, Fox visibly tightened up. Big Boss squeezed  
Fox's shoulder and walked out of Fox's room, the door sliding closed behind  
him.  
'...This damn heat...'  
Fox stood. Suddenly a strong desire to look at the box struck him. He  
crouched and placed his hand under his cot. But he hesitated, a lingering  
pain grew inside him the closer he got to touching the box...but a desire  
to hold some link to his past grew as well. His hand stayed in the same  
position for quite a while as Fox's mind wrestled with its choices.  
Finally, the hand grasped a small, cardboard box under the bed and pulled  
it out.  
Fox sat down on his cot and placed the box on his lap. He gently  
lifted the first two cardboard flaps...then the last two. Inside were the  
only physical links he had to the life he used to live. Perhaps it was Big  
Boss's mention of Derek that made Fox want to look inside of the box. He  
reached inside and pulled out a desert eagle 44., the gun used by Fox's  
hero, friend, brother, father. Fox grasped the heavy handgun for a while,  
then set it back in the box.  
He reached in again, like he was playing some kind of game to draw  
out a prize from a box. This time he pulled out a small piece of paper with  
some scribbled handwriting on it. The parchment read:  
7:23, The renegades have taken over the north side of the compound.  
There isn't much I can do now. I'm taking the kid with me. I'm thinking  
about Italy. I long for the familiar sights and sounds. I'm sure we'll be  
happy there for a while. I hope to see you soon Louis. Please, stay alive  
for the reunion.  
-Derek Storm  
Fox read the parchment again and again. He finally put it back in the  
box as well. Now he pulled out a brochure for a European cruise he had  
taken with Derek. He remembered the taste of the sea air, the feel of the  
water, the feeling of security he had away from the pain he grew up in. He  
put the brochure back.  
The next item was a small plastic pouch. Inside the transparent pouch  
was a pressed, white rose. Fox knew the story behind it. But he didn't want  
to think about it. The pain, though so old, was still so hard. He dropped  
the pouch back into the box.  
I used to love the heat...because I knew nothing else...  
Finally, Fox pulled out a long piece of black cloth. He held it in  
both hands. On the interior side of the cloth, was a familiar blood stain.  
Fox dropped that as well. Why had he opened that damn box? The pain grew to  
near overflowing. He dropped the box and kicked it under the cot. He  
slammed both of his fists into the wall. Thank God Fox had no neighbors,  
since he left a heroic dent in the wall.  
It was time for bed, Fox decided. He grabbed the sheet off his cot  
and laid it on the floor. He went to the north wall and turned the lights  
off, but something wasn't right.  
'I need...the heat...'  
He went over to the thermostat. It read seventy-two degrees. He turned it  
up to ninety-one degrees. That was more like it. He laid down on the sheet  
on the floor. He folded one side over him to make a mock sleeping bag. He  
never slept in his cot, or in normal temperature. He never had.  
Fox slipped his sweat pants off and threw them on the cot. He  
gathered one end of the sheet to his face and placed himself in a fetal  
position. The sweat from the heat gathered on his brow. He closed his eyes  
and gave in to his nightmares that came every night.  
'I need...the heat...'  
Bravicimo! It took me awhile, but I finished chapter two! Chapter  
three is on it's way, so don't get too impatient. Thanks to SideSwipe, who,  
so far, is the only person to review my work. (. You're a true author. 


	3. Innocent Inquires

Chapter 3  
  
Jade sighed and looked at the man lying on his face. Eric Dering was  
most definitely plastered. He had passed out a couple seconds ago. She  
looked away and tried to remember the highlights of their conversation.  
"Oh, yeah, me and Fox, we go way back. We.uh, we uh.we."  
"Can you just tell me what he looks like?"  
"Oh, oh yeah. Fox, he uh, he's about uh this."  
Eric made a gesture with his hands resembling somewhere over six feet.  
"And his hair is really blonde and it uh, comes to uh."  
He made a gesture with his hands from his head to right below his neck.  
"And some of it uh.his uh.bangs go down to uh."  
He made another gesture, this time from his fore head to right above his  
nose.  
"His skin is uh.about uh.a little darker than yours."  
Jade glanced down at her fairly white skin.  
"And he uh.he's got really really really uh, blue eyes. Like, really blue."  
Eric started to swerve and his head bobbed. Finally he collapsed on the  
table, dead to the world. Jade tried shaking him.  
"Hey, hey, hey!"  
Eric didn't budge.  
Back in the present, Jade was most annoyed with Eric's testimony. At  
least she had a pretty good description of what Red Fox looked like now.  
"Er hem."  
Jade turned around to see a soldier in the white clothes of a military  
medic.  
"I couldn't help but overhear you're inquiry of Red Fox."  
"Yeah, what about it?"  
"Well, I've been here for a while, and from what I hear, if you want info  
on anyone in FOXHOUND, you talk to that guy."  
The medic pointed to the right corner of the room. Jade followed the point  
of his finger to see a man sitting at a table by himself, but the strange  
thing about him was, he was dressed in civilian clothes.  
"Wait a minute," Jade said. "If he's in civilian clothes, then he's a."  
"Yup." The medic finished for her. "A FOXHOUND elite. Name's White Dragon."  
"Thanks for the advice." Jade said while getting up.  
White Dragon sat with his right leg crossed over his left, reading a book.  
His long black hair was tied back in a ponytail. As Jade got closer, she  
noticed that he wasn't really in civilian clothes; they were more like a  
samurai warrior's clothes. He wore a black hamika, a white robe and a pair  
of flip flops. As Jade reached the edge of the table, she initiated a  
conversation in the most intellectual manor she could think of.  
"Um, hi there!"  
Dragon looked up at her from his book.  
"Konichiwa."  
"Er, yeah."  
He smiled.  
"Konichiwa is the Japanese word for, hello."  
"Oh, well, hello again."  
"Would you like to sit?"  
"Yes, thank you."  
He motioned to the chair straight across from him. Jade sat down.  
"Can I help you with something?" He asked.  
"Yes actually, I need some information."  
Dragon uncrossed his leg and closed his book.  
"By all means, continue."  
"I need to know about Red Fox."  
There was a brief silence.  
".Red.Fox."  
"Yes."  
Dragon re-crossed his leg and reopened his book, looking down into it.  
"I can't really help you out there, miss."  
"Awwww, please! You have to know something?"  
"All I know about Fox is that he does not want anyone to know about him."  
"But they say you know everything about FOXHOUND!"  
Dragon looked up from his book.  
"Red Fox does not wish to be talked about. He is my comrade in arms,  
nothing more. But I will respect his wishes for secrecy."  
"It sounds like you have some anger towards Red Fox."  
Dragon sighed.  
"He is a lost soul, walking the road to destruction. No one can help him  
off of it."  
"Why is that?"  
"Because he let's no one get close to him."  
"Not even the rest of FOXHOUND's elite?"  
"Not even us."  
"Well, it has been very nice speaking with you, White Dragon."  
Jade rose to shake his hand. Dragon stood and bowed. When he bowed, Jade  
caught a glimpse of a white handle to a katana strapped to his left hip.  
Jade bowed as well and took off for the rookie's quarters.  
"Sayonara, small one."  
Dragon sat back down and started reading again. A few minutes later he  
shook his head and laughed.  
"Fox, that yaro."  
**********  
Fox slowly opened his eyes. The digital clock on his desk read 6:03.  
".Overslept."  
He raised himself out of his blanket and stretched. He grabbed his towel  
out of the closet and wrapped it around himself. He left his room for the  
showers. The elite had one whole floor to themselves. The shower  
room/bathroom was at the back of the hall, directly across from the door to  
the elevator. There was one long hallway leading from the elevator to the  
shower room, with doors on each side of the hall. Each door was a living  
quarters for the elite. Some of the doors led to special areas only  
available to the elite.  
Fox passed the training room, where the elite could practice their  
martial arts in a room full of blue mats, mirrors and punching bags. Then  
he passed the firing range. This room was pretty much self-explanatory.  
There were no restrictions to the weapons the elite could practice with  
there.  
There were many other rooms reserved just for the elite, but Fox  
passed them all on his way to the showers. When he reached the door, one  
thought flew through his mind.  
'I hope he isn't there.'  
Fox opened the door, and sure enough, standing over one of the sinks, was  
Silent Scorpion.  
  
Authors note: I know, I know. This is a really short chapter, but I  
just got my wisdom teeth removed yesterday, so I don't feel to hot. I'm  
gonna take a small break from writing for a little while to recover. But  
don't fret. I'll be back.  
P.S.= I will not write another chapter until I get some REVIEWS!!! 


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